Work starts on Chavis carousel

Raleigh Construction has begun on the new carousel house at Chavis Park.

The park will remain open during the project, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, but some entrances will be closed.

The park entrance and parking lot off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard will be closed to vehicles during the first two months of construction, and the community center entrance will move to the eastern end of the building, its original front door. Parking lots accessible from Chavis Way will remain open.

The carousel was dismantled in October by a restoration company, the first step of a $975,000 refurbishment of the ride built in the 1920s by Herschell Carrousel near Buffalo, N.Y. The restored machine, with its 36 horses and 14 painted land- and seascapes, will reopen in the fall.

The carousel will be moved from its current location, near the original entrance of the park, toward the visitor center and other amenities closer to the newer entrance off Martin Luther King Boulevard. From staff reports

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